Method and apparatus for sorting and cleaning bottles

ABSTRACT

Bottles are loaded onto an automated sanitary table having a cleaning device thereon to which the bottles are channeled seriatim. The table serves to orientate the bottles in a line leading to the entrance of the cleaning device. The cleaning device is of the rotating wheel type wherein upright bottles are continuously fed into one side of the wheel, inverted and cleaned, and deposited upright on the other side of the wheel. The vertical plane of the wheel is located at approximately a 45* angle with respect to the entry and exit line of the bottles, which allows the bottles to travel a path defining an obtuse angle as they enter and leave the device, thereby greatly increasing the efficiency of bottle entry and exit and allowing faster operation of the cleaning wheel.

[451 Sept. 9, 1975 Primary Examiner-Harvey C. Homsby Assistant ExaminerC. K. Moore Attorney, Agent, or FirmGary, Juettner, Pigott 8L Cullinan [57] ABSTRACT Bottles are loaded onto an automated sanitary table having a cleaning device thereon to which the bottles are channeled seriatim. The table serves to orientate the bottles in a line leading to the entrance of the cleaning device. The cleaning device is of the rotating wheel type wherein upright bottles are continuously fed into one side of the wheel, inverted and cleaned, and deposited upright on the other side of the wheel. The vertical plane of the wheel is located at approxi mately a 45 angle with respect to the entry and exit line of the bottles, which allows the bottles to travel a path defining an obtuse angle as they enter and leave George F. Loeffler, Barrington Hills, both of 111.

AND CLEANING BOTTLES Inventors: Thomas ,1. Casey, Arlington Heights Assignee: Thomas Machinery Corporation, Hoffman Estates, 111,

June 21, 1972 Appl. No.: 264,856

15/304; 198/33 AA; 221/168 Int. B08B 9/08 Field of Search............ 15/60, 63, 304; 134/66, 134/134; 198/33 AA, 209, 275; 221/167, 168

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS United States Patent Casey et a1.

[ METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SORTING [22] Filed:

15/304 15/304 the device, thereby greatly increasing the efficiency of bottle entry and exit and allowing faster operation of the cleaning wheel.

198/33 AA 2 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures 198/209 X 198/209 X 15/304 X 9/1941 Frankel................................. 5/1942 Howard 6/1953 Wehmiller et a1. 4/1959 Thulke......

Moulder et a].

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 generally com- Prior to filling sanitary bottles, it is customary to in- 5 prises a Wheel-type bottle Cleaning apparatus in sure complete absence of extraneous debris by inverting each bottle and injecting the same with a jet of cleaning fluid, such as air or other gas.

Various types of bottle cleaning machines for auto- 10 matically performing this task are known, and typical ones are shown and described in US. Pat. Nos.: 2,255,615; 2,282,474; 2,896,647; 3,159,164; and 3,516,108. The latter patent to Loeffler illustrates a bottle cleaning machine wherein bottles are conveyed one by one in an upright position into one side of a vertically disposed wheel having a plurality of radial vanes defining pockets each accommodating a bottle. As the wheel turns, the bottle is moved to the top of the wheel and thus inverted. In this position, a stream of cleaning gas is injected into the bottle, thereby to remove any debris and insure cleanliness. After a complete rotation, the bottles exit on the opposite side of the wheel, again in upright position, and are conveyed away to be filled and capped.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Prior art cleaning devices employ conveyors which bring the bottles into and out of the device at essentially right angles. It has now been discovered that sig nificant efficiencies in the handling of bottles by such devices may be realized by disposing the wheel with its vertical plane at an acute angle with respect to the line of incoming and outgoing bottles, with the angle of entrance and departure facing toward the direction of wheel rotation. A wheeltype cleaning apparatus may be mounted at the periphery of a horizontal turntable unscrambler, and the wheel may be rotated in a vertical plane disposed at an acute angle along a chordal line of the table such that the bottles entering and leaving the wheel must turn through only an acute angle rather than a right angle.

The required distance of travel of the bottles entering and leaving the inventive combination is thus de creased, and the bottles can negotiate the gradual turn THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the combination of an unscrambling and cleaning apparatus which incorporates features of the presently described invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic plan view of another embodiment which utilizes another form of unscrambler.

combination with an unscrambling or sorting device 12 wherein bottles or similar open top containers are moved from a random array into a single line and are conveyed in said line to the cleaning wheel.

The cleaning apparatus 10 is described in detail in the Loeffler US. Pat. No. 3,516,108, incorporated herein by by reference, and comprises an enclosed revolving wheel having spaced radial pockets for receiving the bottles one by one and carrying them to an inverted position and back to an upright position. Automatic air jets connected to a pressure line 13 are associated with the wheel pockets for supplying a blast of cleansing air or other fluid to the interior of each bottle while in an inverted position, and means are provided for collecting and removing debris blasted from the bottles.

The cleaning apparatus 10 includes an entrance gate 14 on one lower side thereof facing the supply of uncleaned bottles 16 and a corresponding exit gate 18 on the opposite lower side thereof from which the cleaned bottles issue. It will be noted that the cleaning apparatus 10 is constructed such that the bottles enter and leave on essentially a straight line in a horizontal plane, and the unscrambler 12 serves the function of conveying the bottles into and away from the apparatus.

The unscrambler 12 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is of the turntable type comprising a large, disc-shaped horizontal table 20 rotatably mounted about its axis on an upright 22 seated in a floor-supported base 25. A stationary guard rail 24 is provided around the outer perimeter of the table 20 to maintain the bottles on the table surface, and a stationary storage platform 26 in register with the table surface may be provided to facilitate unloading of bottles. The platform 26 may be supported on a tilting mechanism 28 adjusted by a crank 30 whereby the platform containing extra bottles may be tilted toward the table in order to supply additional bottles thereto.

A motor (not shown) is connected to the table 20 to rotate the table about its axis, in a counterclockwise di' rection in the embodiment shown. One or more belts 32 extending between a pair of vertically mounted pulleys 34 and 36 are suspended from a stationary support arm 38 over the revolving table surface, said pulleys and belt being driven in the same rotational direction as the table and being located near one side of the table to define a convergent path (indicated by arrow 39 in FIG. 2) with the guard rail 24 in the same direction as the direction of rotation of the table. A second rail 40 is suspended over the table to extend parallel and spaced from the outer rail 24 between the outermost pulley 34 to the entrance gate 14 of the cleaning apparatus 10.

The unscrambling apparatus 12 operates to move the uncleaned bottles 16 from a random relationship as deposited on the surface of the table 20 into an orderly single file. The table 20 rotates at a slightly faster speed than the rate of handling by the cleaning apparatus 20, such that the bottles are bunched up at the entrance to the wheel. The belt 32 serves to direct the bottles into the space between the inner and outer rails 40 and 24, which space may correspond to the width or diameter of the bottle. Since the bottles follow a path of least resistance, they will be continuously aligned in a single file between rails 40 and 24, and in the case of bottles with plane side surfaces, will also be aligned in face to face relationship.

After the bottles have been cleaned in the apparatus 10, they return to the table 20 and are led from the table between auxiliary rails 42 on a separate conveyor to a filling station. It will be noted in FIG. 2 that the bottles pass to and from the cleaning apparatus on an essentially straight but slightly curved line.

The cleaning apparatus is located over the table with its entrance gate 14 and exit gate 18 at and coinciding with the outer periphery of the table. Instead of being located perpendicular to the path of the bottles, the apparatus is disposed on an acute angle A with respect to the incoming and outgoing line of bottles. The angle A is preferably in the order of about 30 to 60, with the angle at the exit gate approximately the same as the angle at the entrance gate. Best results are achieved if the entrance and exit angles are approximately 45 with respect to the line of bottles.

It will be understood that in the embodiment shown, the wheel of the cleaning apparatus 10 rotates in a direction corresponding to the general direction of the path of the incoming bottles, which in the present case is a clockwise direction with respect to incoming bottles. The incoming and outgoing bottles are therefore not required to travel around a sharp corner when being conveyed into and out of the apparatus 10. Instead, they travel around a single acute angle upon entrance and exit which may be negotiated at a higher speed. As a result, the wheel of the cleaning apparatus may be operated at a significantly faster rate, in the order of 20 percent faster, without rejecting bottles or jamming.

FIG. 3 illustrates in diagrammatic fashion another embodiment of the invention wherein a different form of unscrambler 44 is employed in connection with the cleaning apparatus 10a. The unscrambler 44 comprises a substantially flat bed made up of a plurality of belts 46, with adjacent belts moving in opposite directions, as indicated by the arrows. The outermost belt may be protected by a guard rail 48, and the innermost belt is adjacent to a conveyor belt 50 that leads through the cleaning apparatus 100. As in the previous embodiment, the cleaning apparatus 10a is disposed on approximately a 45 angle with respect to the line of incoming and outgoing bottles, i.e., with respect to the center line of the conveyor belt 50.

The unscrambler 44 tends to accumulate the bottles in a continuous straight line relationship on the upstream end of the conveyor belt 50, which in turn conveys the bottles into the cleaning apparatus on essentially a straight line on one side of the belt. Bottles which exit from the cleaning apparatus are displaced to the other side of the same belt 50 and are carried away from the cleaning apparatus in a straight line or file substantially parallel to the entrance file. As with the previous embodiment, the favorable angle of the cleaning apparatus allows the bottles to enter and leave in a more efficient manner.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for cleaning containers in an efficient manner comprising conveyor means for horizontally conveying containers in a file, and cleaning means comprising vertical rotary wheel means for picking containers up from said conveyor means, inverting said containers, and redepositing said containers on said conveyor means, said rotary wheel means including an inlet and an outlet located on opposite sides of said wheel means, said wheel means being disposed on an acute angle with respect to said file of containers, said conveyor comprising turntable means rotating in a direction toward said inlet and serving to bring a single file of containers into said inlet and away from said outlet.

2. Apparatus for cleaning containers in an efficient manner comprising conveyor means for horizontally conveying said containers, and cleaning means comprising vertical rotary wheel means for picking containers up from said conveyor means, inverting said containers, and redepositing said containers on said conveyor means, said rotary wheel means including an inlet and an outlet located on opposite sides of said wheel means, said wheel means being disposed on an acute angle with respect to said file of containers, said conveyor means comprising a single conveyor belt moving in a direction toward said inlet, said belt serving to bring both a first single file of containers into said inlet and a second single file of containers away from said outlet, said second file being laterally displaced from said first file on said conveyor belt. 

1. Apparatus for cleaning containers in an efficient manner comprising conveyor means for horizontally conveying containers in a file, and cleaning means comprising vertical rotary wheel means for picking containers up from said conveyor means, inverting said containers, and redepositing said containers on said conveyor means, said rotary wheel means including an inlet and an outlet located on opposite sides of said wheel means, said wheel means being disposed on an acute angle with respect to said file of containers, said conveyor comprising turntable means rotating in a direction toward said inlet and serving to bring a single file of containers into said inlet and away from said outlet.
 2. Apparatus for cleaning conTainers in an efficient manner comprising conveyor means for horizontally conveying said containers, and cleaning means comprising vertical rotary wheel means for picking containers up from said conveyor means, inverting said containers, and redepositing said containers on said conveyor means, said rotary wheel means including an inlet and an outlet located on opposite sides of said wheel means, said wheel means being disposed on an acute angle with respect to said file of containers, said conveyor means comprising a single conveyor belt moving in a direction toward said inlet, said belt serving to bring both a first single file of containers into said inlet and a second single file of containers away from said outlet, said second file being laterally displaced from said first file on said conveyor belt. 